All I know is that this new product better be an actual fixed 60-card preconstructed deck, and must come in a set of 4.

Is there any reason why the Core Set Planeswalker Decks must be 2 per set instead of 5 like it was in the more recent 2 Core Sets? Will this new product also be released for Core Sets alongside the Planeswalker deck, which is why they might have decreased the 5 Planeswalker Deck to 2?

As the main set associated precon (I view them as all one continuous product being renamed and changed, rather than discontinued and a new product replacing it),

Considering how well received the Planeswalker Decks were over the Intro Pack, kind of weird those only lasted 3 years. Must be that they aren't getting more money from those who like to buy all the precons in the set, because they are releasing 2 per set instead of 4 or 5.

They should just bring back Theme Decks, except it costs a couple bucks more that it was back when they released Theme Decks, and to justify the cost, have 3 rares, maybe 5 rares, and have one of them be a foil creature card, kind of like intro packs, but unlike intro packs, they are built for people who already know the basics, and is basically a deck that you can build off of, not something to replace, because it sucks.

I was looking up the product description for Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths, and Zendikar, and there isn't any Planeswalker Decks, or any precon of any kind. I also looked at the product description for Core Set 2021, and instead of having a Planeswalker Deck display consisting of 5 different decks, 2 copies each, like in 2019 and 2020, it now contains 2 different decks, 5 copies each.

Is this a mistake, or are Planeswalker Decks being limited to only Core Sets now?

If Nicol Bolas is the feature character in Core 2019, and Chandra is the feature character in Core 2020, does this mean that Garruk will be the feature character in Core 2021, and the Summer 2023 set will be called Magic Origins 2: Electric Boogaloo, and then we will once again have core sets be discontinued by 2024?

If the next 3 sets after Core 2019, that features Nicol Bolas, takes place on Ravnica, then does it mean that the next 3 sets, that comes after Core 2020, that features Chandra, takes place on Theros, and the next 3 sets after Core 2021 takes place on Tarkir?

Just bring back theme decks. Having more deck themes per set is way more important than a planeswalker. I'd rather have the option to buy a Dimir, Boros, or Selesnya deck along with Izzet and Golgari, more than a Ral Zarek or Vraska. There are other means of including a Planeswalker in a precon other than the set associated ones. The set associated precons should only focus on the set's themes and mechanics. The izzet deck should make use of the jump start mechanic. A dimir deck should focus on surveil.

Instead of going back to theme decks from the boring intro packs, they just slapped a planeswalker in it. Sure the deck is less boring, but the focus is on the planeswalker, not the themes and mechanics of the set.

Not to mention that there are no decks that make use of the Surveil, Mentor, and Convoke mechanic. Sure we have guild kits, but they are more expensive, and they focus on the guild as a whole in every Ravnica set, rather than the guild only in Guilds of Ravnica.

I've played with the Planeswalker decks in the free MTGO trial, and because of the Planeswalker, it made me, and probably most people, focus on the Planeswalker itself, rather than whatever the theme of the deck was. If I were to play the Ral Zarek deck, I'd try to get Ral Zarek out, and win with him, rather than make use of the Jump Start mechanic.

There was a theme deck from Time Spiral whose focus is the suspend and storm mechanic. Almost every card had suspend or storm, and you had to win by suspending the cards, in such a way that they resolve at the same time so you could use your storm spells to full effect. If that deck came out today, there would be only 2 or 3 suspend and/or storm cards and you'd try to win by using your planeswalker's ultimate. The theme decks back then were fun. The decks were not competitive, but they were fun. You had 4 decks per set, and each one played differently. Intro packs are boring, because they had to cater to the new player, but even then, the 5 decks sort of played differently. To counteract that boring of the intro pack, WOTC just slapped a Planeswalker on top. It's stupid and lazy, and to me, the 2 decks almost play the same, well the Planeswalker mechanic is exactly the same no matter what Planeswalker it is. The Planeswalker deck also had these exclusive cards that have nothing to do with the set's themes or mechanics. For the Ral deck, we have some basic common burn spell, an uncommon that does more stuff in the presence of a Ral Planeswalker, and a rare that tutors for a Ral. Why not just get rid of those and add more Jump Start cards?

The strategy inserts in the Planeswalker decks starting with Ixalan are a joke. I am assuming these decks will have these same strategy inserts too. Compared to the strategy inserts from the original Ravnica theme decks, these strategy inserts, based on the ones from Ixalan up to Core 2019, they do not have a decklist, they do not have a strategy, and they do not have tips to improve on the deck.

You know what's even more stupid about these strategy inserts? The theme deck strategy inserts have a full strategy, a decklist, a storyline blurb, and some other stuff in a smaller surface area than the strategy inserts from more recent planeswalker decks. The ad for FNM would take up a small percentage of the strategy insert, while in the current ones, it takes up the entire back side of the strategy insert. The picture of the planeswalker on the strategy insert could have been best used for a decklist, or an actual strategy.

Reeks of greed on WotC's part unfortunately. I still have the book from the beatdown box, its like a treasure trove of information in comparison. I can only guess that the reasoning was something along the lines of: Charts, focus groups, poll numbers, and a means to shave off 10c from the cost.

Do you know what I think? There is a reason why we have Planeswalker decks now. Remember names like Pressure Cooker, or maybe Bait and Switch, or perhaps Sliver Evolution, or maybe Grave Power. We also had things like Armada, Sky Slam, Dead Again, and Molimo's Might. By changing them to planeswalker decks, they could just make a piece of crap look good by adding a cherry on top. The planeswalker means that each set cannot have more than 2 decks, whereas before, there were 4 theme decks per set, or 5 intro packs per set. Planeswalker decks mean that they do not have to pay someone to come up with cool deck names, so they can skimp on the cost right there. Why call it Izzet Ingenuity when you call it the Ral Zarek deck.

I've said this as a youtube comment when someone opened an Ixalan Planeswalker deck. Whoever had the bright idea to omit the decklist from the strategy insert needs to be fired. If they can't come up with a strategy for the deck, at least they should just include the decklist. That isn't hard to do, and the whole, look it up online doesn't cut it, considering all that wasted space that the current strategy inserts have.

I don't see you having to look online for a parts list to check if you are missing any parts when you are building furniture.

The strategy inserts in the Planeswalker decks starting with Ixalan are a joke. I am assuming these decks will have these same strategy inserts too. Compared to the strategy inserts from the original Ravnica theme decks, these strategy inserts, based on the ones from Ixalan up to Core 2019, they do not have a decklist, they do not have a strategy, and they do not have tips to improve on the deck.

You know what's even more stupid about these strategy inserts? The theme deck strategy inserts have a full strategy, a decklist, a storyline blurb, and some other stuff in a smaller surface area than the strategy inserts from more recent planeswalker decks. The ad for FNM would take up a small percentage of the strategy insert, while in the current ones, it takes up the entire back side of the strategy insert. The picture of the planeswalker on the strategy insert could have been best used for a decklist, or an actual strategy.

With Planeswalker decks, I don't understand the reason why the "strategy guide" doesn't contain a decklist, and the strategy is a couple of sentences at best, compared to the strategy insert of the theme decks, which contained a deck list, a full strategy on how to play the deck, and a little storyline blurb, in less paper surface area compared to Planeswalker decks.

I'd say bring back theme decks, and have 4 per set, like it used to be, unless it is a core set, in which there should be 5 per set, one of each color.

At least with theme decks and intro packs, I can tell you what the strategy behind the deck is. Not so with Planeswalker decks. I don't even know what Teferi's Planeswalker deck strategy is. Historic? All I see is the Planeswalker being shoehorned in the deck, rather than building a deck based on a theme.

I know the 4 themes for the Mirrodin theme decks were Affinity for Artifacts, Equipment, Artifact Destruction, and Sacrifice Artifacts, or the Scars of Mirrodin Intro Pack themes, which is Myrs, Metalcraft, Proliferate, Artifact Destruction, and Infect.

Initially Planeswalker decks had themes, like the Kaladesh ones, which is Vehicles for one of them, and Energy for the other, but lately, it is difficult to find out what the theme is for each of the decks. At least with theme decks, you tried to win by using the theme of the deck, like equipment, or flashback, or whatever the theme was. With Planeswalker decks, you'd try to win by getting the Planeswalker out, which takes away the focus of the set's specific themes. Look at the Planeswalker Deck's names, like Chandra Planeswalker Deck, compared to names like Waking Nightmares, or Grave Power, or Reality Fracture.

Planeswalker decks were a success because it was better than what we had in intro packs. What should have happened was that theme decks should have never became intro packs in the first place. Set associated precons should teach new players what the set is all about. With the Planeswalker being shoehorned in, I feel that the Planeswalker deck planeswalker are a waste of design and developmental resources. They just had to make a crappy Planeswalker just for the Planeswalker deck. I remember we had duel decks with planeswalkers in them. That should have been the way for newer players to get their hands on planeswalkers and get to know how to use them, although they wouldn't be standard legal upon release. The focus on the set associated precons should be on what the set is all about, not the Planeswalker.

When they changed intro packs into Planeswalker decks, I thought it was one of the stupidest decisions WOTC ever made, but since people liked Planeswalker decks, I can't do anything about it, but then again, they probably haven't been playing when theme decks were a thing.